By thunder, that scorcher’s gone

A pedestrian braves the heavy rains accompanied by lightning and thunder on Yuyao Road last night. (Ke Yi)

Shanghai faces being drenched by thunderstorms this week, forecasters said, even as heavy showers lashed the city last night.

After a relatively cooler start to August, the city had three consecutive hot days, with mercury soaring over 35 degrees Celsius. The hot spell broke on Saturday when torrential rains hit the city, lowering temperatures to 32 degrees.

However, the city was again put on an orange alert after a heatwave of 37 degrees or higher was forecast for the first two days of this week.

Yesterday marked liqiu, or autumn begins, in the Chinese solar calendar, which indicates a gradual decline in temperatures. But autumn, meteorologically, won't come until late September or early October. Nevertheless from today, the temperature will fall dramatically as a subtropical high weakens and rain comes.